The DC Studios has undergone drastic changes after James Gunn and Peter Safran took control of the franchise. However, this led to the end of a major era featuring Henry Cavill’s Superman, Ben Affleck’s Batman, and Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman. As the DCEU is coming to its end with the release of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, many are scratching their head about the reunion of this trio. In a recent fan art, the actors made a comeback to become villains in James Gunn’s DCU.
With DCEU kicking off through the story of Cavill’s character in Man of Steel, it soon included the other two actors in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. They reprised their roles in Zack Snyder’s Justice League which was unable to utilize their potential putting their future in question. As the heads plan for a reboot, it is evident that there are no plans to bring them back for now. However, fan art has thought of another way to reunite the trio in the new era.
Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, and Gal Gadot Returns as Villains in Fan Art
The House of Mat account shared an artwork (via Marvel DC Geeks) where the former DCEU actors, Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, and Gal Gadot are imagined as the DC villains in James Gunn’s DCU. The trio depicted the role of Ultraman, Owlman, and Superwoman, respectively.
For the unversed, these villains are the Earth-3 doppelgangers of the former actors’ comic characters. They are the founding members of the Crime Syndicate of America (CSA), the parallels of the Justice League. The CSA has yet to make its appearance in the movies as it only appeared in the 2010 movie Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths.
Their entry into the DCU would surely excite the fans given that the three mega stars left the franchise. Though David Corenswet has been announced to replace Cavill as Superman in the upcoming Superman: Legacy, the other two characters remain a mystery.
Why did Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, and Gal Gadot Exit DCEU?
Gunn has already unveiled his plans to continue the Superman arc but wanted a young character to play the role. Thus, the Enola Holmes actor’s age made him unfit for the new DCU who exited the franchise. As for why the Gone Girl actor left the franchise, his dissatisfaction with the fun he sought from the project was the prime factor.
In an interview with the LA Times, he shared,
“I looked at (directing Batman) and thought, ‘I’m not going to be happy doing this. The person who does this should love it.’ You’re supposed to always want these things, and I probably would have loved doing it at 32 or something. But it was the point where I started to realize it’s not worth it. It’s just a wonderful benefit of reorienting and recalibrating your priorities that once it started being more about the experience, I felt more at ease.”
Meanwhile, Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman future is left up in the air as she previously commented about developing a Wonder Woman 3 with the new DC heads but it seemed otherwise. Sources told Variety that nothing such has been planned nor in consideration in the near future given that the franchise is focusing on the new titles announced for the Gods and Monsters phase.